The expansion of renewable energy is urgently needed to reduce carbon emissions, but it can entail some trade-offs with biodiversity. Here, we argue that synergistic implementation strategies are possible and should be prioritized. Decision-makers must also consider the counterfactual — that unchecked fossil fuel use is far worse for biodiversity than the modest effects of renewable energy development.
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Acknowledgements
This Comment builds on work done as part of the Thematic Assessment of the Interlinkages among Biodiversity, Water, Food and Health of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. We thank all authors of chapter 5.5 for thoughtful work and dialogues in developing the chapter: P. K. Singh, J. Díaz-José, H. Gupta, H. Duchkova, A. Ito, S. Khan, M. Llope, M. Hori, M. Cristina Tirado, M. M. Vale and X. Xu. We thank T. van Huysen for comments for this Comment and her tireless work on behalf of the whole assessment. We thank D. Obura for comments on a draft of the Comment. We also thank the members of the IPBES Bureau and Multidisciplinary Expert Panel, including those who were members of the assessment management committee and provided guidance throughout the assessment process. We appreciate the IPBES external reviewers for their thoughtful comments on several drafts of the chapter and chapter review editor N. Ravindranath. The leadership, guidance and support of the IPBES secretariat throughout the assessment have been invaluable.
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McElwee, P., Smith, P., Ballal, V. et al. The trade-offs between needed renewable energy transitions and biodiversity can be overcome. Nat. Rev. Biodivers. 1, 561–562 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44358-025-00079-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44358-025-00079-0
